KINGSTON >> The owners of the Mohonk Mountain House were aware of a gastrointestinal illness prior to the arrival of guests who subsequently became ill after staying at the New Paltz resort, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday.

In the suit, two people who became ill in late January during a virus outbreak at Mohonk accuse Smiley Brothers Inc., which operates the resort, of “intentional, willful, wanton, illegal ... and deliberate disregard for the health, safety and rights of plaintiffs. ...

“As a result of the acts of the defendant, plaintiffs are entitled to punitive damages,” the suit states, though it does not seek specific compensation.

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The 12-page suit was filed in state Supreme Court in Kingston by the attorney for Louis and Anna Marie Bellotti of Fort Lee, N.J., “individually and on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated.” The filing by Albany-based attorney Donald W. Boyajian was confirmed by Ulster County Clerk Nina Postupack.

A norovirus outbreak at the resort sickened about 200 people in late January and early February, forcing the business to shut down for a week — the first closure in its 145-year history. It reopened on Valentine’s Day, the start of a traditionally busy weekend, after being cleaned by an outside company.

The suit states Anna Marie Bellotti “suffered repeated and recurring bouts of vomiting, abdominal pain, dehydration, chills, muscle ache, and fever and required medical treatment, including prescription anti-nausea medication” following an overnight stay at the resort Jan. 29 and 30.

The suit says the plaintiffs “suffered general and special, incidental and consequential damages” including “pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, medical and medical-related expenses, travel and lodging-related expenses, lost wages, emotional distress and other ordinary, incidental and consequential damages.”

The suit alleges that “cases of gastrointestinal illness were reported to (Mohonk’s) agents, servants and/or employees prior to plaintiff’s arriving” at the resort. Further, it states, the resort “failed to take adequate measures to ensure that the Mohonk’s facilities, products and services were reasonably safe for the patrons, including the plaintiffs.”

Mohonk officials did not return a reporter’s calls Tuesday, and attorneys for the plaintiffs could not be reached for comment.

In response to the virus outbreak, Mohonk hired a Texas-based sanitization company, BMS Cat, to clean and disinfect the hotel and all the buildings on the property, Mohonk Marketing Director Nina Smiley said at the time. Mohonk also worked with the Ulster County Health Department to resolve the problem.

Last week, Dr. Carol Smith, the county health commissioner, said norovirus, which has been known to spread on cruise ships, had been identified as the culprit. Smith said norovirus tends to thrive from November through early spring and is particularly resilient.

Norovirus can be transmitted from person to person, by ingesting contaminated food or water or by coming in contact with contaminated surfaces.

According to a press release regarding the lawsuit, Boyajian’s law firm served as co-counsel for “over 600 victims of the 2008 norovirus outbreak at the Six Flags Great Escape Indoor Lodge & Waterpark in Queensbury,” near Lake George, and is currently co-counsel in connection with a cryptosporidium outbreak “that sickened almost 4,000 patrons of the Seneca Lake State Spraypark in Geneva.”

Boyajian also represented plaintiffs affected by a 1999 E. coli outbreak at the Washington County Fair in Greenwich, northeast of Albany.

About the Author

Diane Pineiro-Zucker has been a reporter at the Daily Freeman since April 2013.
Pineiro-Zucker worked as a reporter in the Freeman’s Rhinebeck bureau in the early 1980s, left to become executive editor at Taconic Newspapers in Dutchess County, and returned to the Freeman in 2010 as a copy editor. Reach the author at dpzucker@freemanonline.com
or follow Diane on Twitter: @DianeAtFreeman.